Jim is 52 years young and married to Katy. They have a daughter Hurricane Mia (12) and a son Tropical Storm Jake (8).

After high school, Jim spent a stint in the U.S. Coast Guard and then graduated with an Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering from Florida Tech. Jim also holds an MBA in International Business from Georgetown University.

Jim was first licensed in 1976 (7th grade) as WB6ZHZ and then acquired the call N6TQ in 2011. Jim enjoys DXing, Lowbands and 160m contesting. Jim recently made DXCC Honor Roll and believes the Heard Island trip strongly aligns with his passion for adventure, having spent six weeks trekking in the Himalaya (1998), two weeks trekking in the jungles of Laos (1999), four weeks tracking the white-desert rhinos of Namibia (2000), summitting Kilimanjaro (2002) and, most recently, operating from the remote Tuli Preserve in eastern Bostwana (A25TQ - Sept 2014).

Jim is currently working at Equinix, a leading data-center provider, as a senior program manager, focused on transforming the customer experience for the company. Graciously, Equinix has been very supportive of this once in a lifetime opportunity to participate in the Heard Island expedition.